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History in the Shadows
Early history the beginning of the historical record period, the area was inhabited by the Mocama, a coastal subgroup of the Timucua Colonial and territorial history In 1513, Spanish explorers landed in Florida and claimed their discovery for Spain (see Spanish Florida). The first Europeans to visit the area were Spanish missionaries and explorers from this period. In February 1562, French naval officer Jean Ribault and a 150 settlers arrived seeking land for a safe haven for the French Huguenots, Protestants suffering religious persecution in France. European explorers first arrived in the area 1562, when French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement, Fort Caroline, on the St. Johns near the main village of the Saturiwa. On September 20, 1565, a Spanish force from the nearby Spanish settlement of St. Augustine attacked Fort Caroline, and killed nearly all the French soldiers defending it. Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War, and the British soon constructed the King's Road connecting St. Augustine to Georgia. The road crossed the St. Johns River at a narrow point, which the Seminole called Wacca Pilatka and the British called the Cow Ford or Cowford; these names ostensibly reflect the fact that cattle were brought across the river there. The British introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits as well the export of lumber. As a result, the northeastern Florida area prospered economically more than it had under the Spanish.24 Britain ceded control of the territory back to Spain in 1783, after its defeat in the American Revolutionary War, and the settlement at the Cow Ford continued to grow. After Spain ceded the Florida Territory to the United States in 1821, American settlers on the north side of the Cow Ford decided to plan a town, laying out the streets and plats. They soon named the town Jacksonville, after Andrew Jackson. Led by Isaiah D. Hart, residents wrote a charter for a town government, which was approved by the Florida Legislative Council on February 9, 1832. Nineteenth Century Florida's largest city came to be known as Jacksonville only after American settlers began to arrive in 1822, after Spain ceded the Florida Territory to the United States. The town charter was approved by the state of Florida in 1832. Civil War Although no battles were fought in Jacksonville during the Civil War, the city was blockaded by Union troops who sought to disrupt the livestock transport from Florida to the Confederate Army that was centered there. The Union Army controlled the city from 1862 through the duration of the war. Winter Resort Following the Civil War, during Reconstruction and afterward, Jacksonville and nearby St. Augustine became popular winter resorts for the rich and famous of the Gilded Age. Visitors arrived by steamboat and (beginning in the 1880s) byrailroad, and wintered at dozens of hotels and boarding houses. The 1888 Subtropical Exposition was held in Jacksonville and attended by President Grover Cleveland, but the Florida-style world's fair did not lead to a lasting boost for tourism in Jacksonville. Yellow fever epidemics Jacksonville's prominence as a winter resort was dealt another blow by major yellow fever epidemics in 1886 and 1888. During the second one, nearly ten percent of the more than 4,000 victims died, including the city's mayor. In the absence of scientific knowledge concerning the cause of yellow fever, nearly half of the city's panicked residents fled despite the imposition of quarantines. Inbound and outbound mail was fumigated in an effort to reduce contagion. Jacksonville's reputation as a healthful tourist destination suffered.' ' Spanish–American War During the Spanish–American War, gunrunners helping the Cuban rebels used Jacksonville as the center for smuggling illegal arms and supplies to the island. Duval County sheriff and future state governor, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, was one of the many gunrunners operating out of the city. Author Stephen Crane travelled to Jacksonville to cover the war. 20th Century Great Fire of 1901 On May 3, 1901, downtown Jacksonville was ravaged by the Great Fire—the largest-ever urban fire in the Southeastern United States, which started when hot ash from a shanty house's chimney landed on the drying moss at Cleaveland's Fiber Factory. At half past noon most of the Cleaveland workers were at lunch, but by the time they returned the entire city block was engulfed in flames. The fire destroyed the business district and rendered 10,000 residents homeless in the course of eight hours. Florida Governor William S. Jennings declared a state of martial law in Jacksonville and dispatched several state militia units to help. Reconstruction started immediately, and the city was returned to civil authority on May 17. Despite the widespread damage, only seven deaths were reported. Young architect Henry John Klutho had just returned to New York from a year in Europe when he read about the Jacksonville fire and, seeing a rare opportunity, he headed south. Klutho and other architects, enamored by the "Prairie Style" of architecture then being popularized by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago and other Midwestern cities, designed exuberant local buildings with a Florida flair. While many of Klutho's buildings were demolished by the 1980s, a number of his creations remain, including the St. James Building from 1911 (a former department store that is now Jacksonville's City Hall) and the Morocco Temple from 1910. The Klutho Apartments, in Springfield, were recently restored and converted into office space by local charity Fresh Ministries. Despite the losses of the last several decades, Jacksonville still has one of the largest collections of Prairie Style buildings (particularly residences) outside the Midwest. Motion Picture Industries In the early 20th century, before Hollywood, the motion picture industry was based in New York City. In need of a winter headquarters, moviemakers were attracted to Jacksonville due to its warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and cheaper labor, earning the city the title of "The Winter Film Capital of the World." New York-based Kalem Studios was the first to open a permanent studio in Jacksonville in 1908. Over the course of the next decade, more than 30 silent film companies established studios in town, including Metro Pictures (later MGM), Edison Studios, Majestic Films, King Bee Film Company, Vim Comedy Company, Norman Studios, Gaumont Studios and the Lubin Manufacturing Company. Comedic actor and Georgia native Oliver "Babe" Hardy began his motion picture career here in 1914. He starred in over 36 short silent films his first year acting. With the closing of Lubin in early 1915, Oliver moved to New York then New Jersey to find film jobs. Acquiring a job with the Vim Company in early 1915, he returned to Jacksonville in the spring of 1917 before relocating to Los Angeles in October 1917. The first motion picture made in Technicolor and the first feature-length color movie produced in the United States, The Gulf Between, was also filmed on location in Jacksonville in 1917. Jacksonville was especially important to the African American film industry. One notable individual in this regard is the European American producer Richard Norman, who created a string of films starring black actors in the vein of Oscar Micheaux and the Lincoln Motion Picture Company. In contrast to the degrading parts offered in certain white films such as The Birth of a Nation, Norman and his contemporaries sought to create positive stories featuring African Americans in what he termed "splendidly assuming different roles." Jacksonville's mostly conservative residents, however, objected to the hallmarks of the early movie industry, such as car chases in the streets, simulated bank robberies and fire alarms in public places, and even the occasional riot. In 1917, conservative Democrat John W. Martin was elected mayor on the platform of taming the city's movie industry. By that time, southern California was emerging as the major movie production center, thanks in large part to the move of film pioneers like William Seligand D.W. Griffith to the area. These factors quickly sealed the demise of Jacksonville as a major film destination. ' In the 1910s, New York–based filmmakers were attracted to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and cheap labor. Over the course of the decade, more than 30 silent film studios were established, earning Jacksonville the title of "Winter Film Capital of the World". However, the emergence of Hollywood as a major film production center ended the city's film industry. One converted movie studio site, Norman Studios, remains in Arlington; It has been converted to the Jacksonville Silent Film Museum at Norman Studios. ' ' During this time, Jacksonville also became a banking and insurance center, with companies such as Barnett Bank, Atlantic National Bank, Florida National Bank, Prudential, Gulf Life, Afro-American Insurance, Independent Life and American Heritage Life thriving in the business district. The U.S. Navy also became a major employer and economic force during the 1940s, with the construction of three naval bases in the city. ' ' "Gateway to Florida" The 1920s brought significant real estate development and speculation to the city during the great Florida land boom (and bust). Hordes of train passengers passed through Jacksonville on their way south to the new tourist destinations of South Florida, as most of the passenger trains arriving from the population centers of the North were routed through Jacksonville. The Riverside Theater, which opened in 1927, was the first theater in Florida to show talking pictures. Completion of the Dixie Highway (portions of which became U.S. 1) in the 1920s began to draw significant automobile traffic as well. An important entry point to the state since the 1870s, Jacksonville now justifiably billed itself as the "Gateway to Florida." False Treaties of the Early 1930s Pat Moran, a journalist at the Florida TU, wrote an article claiming claiming a treaty had been signed at the site by native Floridians and early settlers and called it Treaty Oak. Prior to that, the tree was known simply as Giant Oak. The Oak is likely to be the oldest living thing in Jacksonville. The apocryphal story of the use of the tree for a treaty signing was an attempt by the writer to save the oak from developers. Those developers were actually Invictus pushing for new buildings in the area. World War II era'''' Jacksonville, like most large cities in the United States, suffered from negative effects of rapid urban sprawl after World War II. The construction of highways led residents to move to newer housing in the suburbs. After World War II, the government of the city of Jacksonville began to increase spending to fund new public building projects in the boom that occurred after the war. Mayor W. Haydon Burns' Jacksonville Story resulted in the construction of a new city hall, civic auditorium, public library and other projects that created a dynamic sense of civic pride. However, the development of suburbs and a subsequent wave of middle class "white flight" left Jacksonville with a much poorer population than before. The city's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, declined from 75.8% in 1970 to 55.1% by 2010. Much of the city's tax base dissipated, leading to problems with funding education, sanitation, and traffic control within the city limits. In addition, residents in unincorporated suburbs had difficulty obtaining municipal services, such as sewage and building code enforcement. In 1958, a study recommended that the city of Jacksonville begin annexing outlying communities in order to create the needed tax base to improve services throughout the county. Voters outside the city limits rejected annexation plans in six referendums between 1960 and 1965. Corruption In the mid-1960s, scandals began to arise among many of the city's officials, who were mainly elected through the traditional old boy network. After a grand jury was convened to investigate, 11 officials were indicted and more were forced to resign. Jacksonville Consolidation, led by J. J. Daniel and Claude Yates, began to win more support during this period, from both inner city blacks, who wanted more involvement in government, and whites in the suburbs, who wanted more services and more control over the central city. In 1964 all 15 of Duval County's public high schools lost their accreditation. This added momentum to proposals for government reform. Lower taxes, increased economic development, unification of the community, better public spending and effective administration by a more central authority were all cited as reasons for a new consolidated government. Consolidation When a consolidation referendum was held in 1967, voters approved the plan. On October 1, 1968, the governments merged to create the Consolidated City of Jacksonville. Fire, police, health & welfare, recreation, public works, and housing & urban development were all combined under the new government. In honor of the occasion, then-Mayor Hans Tanzler posed with actress Lee Meredith behind a sign marking the new border of the "Bold New City of the South" at Florida 13 and Julington Creek. The Better Jacksonville Plan, promoted as a blueprint for Jacksonville's future and approved by Jacksonville voters in 2000, authorized a half-penny sales tax. This would generate most of the revenue required for the $2.25 billion package of major projects that included road & infrastructure improvements, environmental preservation, targeted economic development and new or improved public facilities 21st Century After 9/11/2001, all of America was united under a sense of Patriotism, in later years it would come to be seen by many as Fascism. Florida was no different. The economy was in shambles from a series of wars, banking collapes, their subsequent Wall-street bailouts did little buy keep invictus ghouls in power, and the housing bubble bursting which was especially rough in Florida. During the twenty-teens Riverside became the hot night spot in town, but it also began social homogenization, the people moving in started to look like just another suburb. The turn around started around 2020, Jacksonville boomed, socially and economically. Suddenly an influx of educated populace as well as several dozen fortune 500 companies began moving in. New buildings and new infrastructure were needed. An extensive monorail system was developed, and plans for it to stretch out to connect Jacksonville's outlying suburbs, Yulee, Fernandina, St Augustine, and others. With new people came new demands, especially for a new nightlife. The Landing went through elaborate renovations. including the construction of a Ferris wheel on the board walk. The new structures of Downtown changed the face of the City, the Monorail connected much of the Central Business District allowing for many commuters to never even need to bother walking on the ground level. Most of the buildings in the Downtown region have small malls for shopping and dining on the second and third floors. Outside, on the ground, lie the forgotten, the down trodden. Homeless, whether through choice or economic seclusion live in permanent shadows of the Skyscrapers and Monorail.